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Magath looks to youth to shape Fulham future

Felix Magath will look to Fulham's youth academy to shape the future of the club as they face the reality of Premier League relegation.

The Craven Cottage outfit have spent the last 13 years in the top flight, but will return to the second tier next season after last weekend's 4-1 thumping at Stoke City confirmed their demotion.

Magath is the third man to take charge at the club this season, after the departures of Martin Jol and Rene Meulensteen, and the German has handed first-team opportunities to the likes of Cauley Woodrow, Patrick Roberts and Moussa Dembele in recent weeks.

The club's youth team reached the FA Youth Cup final before going down to local rivals Chelsea, and Magath feels more focus is needed on the academy to blood young stars into the first-team set up.

"In the future we will give our youth academy more attention," he said.

"In the last years there were not many players from our youth academy but in the future there will be some players who will join us in the first team.

"We have started (doing that) and that is the good thing about this situation. The future is to come back to the Premier League and now we can make a change to younger players as the basis of the future.

"We have to look forward now. We have to change our philosophy, we have to take care of our young players and we have to work with our young players to build up a team for the future, not only for one season.

"I think we have to go forward and not look back. At Fulham we have a very good youth academy so for me it is logical to work here with young players.

"Look at Southampton; they do things the right way. They started with young players and now they have some international players in the team, and that is the way we want to do things."